If your business adds a surcharge when customers pay by card, a major change is coming that you need to prepare for. From 1 October 2026, a card surcharge ban takes effect across Australia, meaning businesses will no longer be able to add surcharges on most card payments. Announced by the Reserve Bank as part of a broader package of payment reforms, the card surcharge ban will change how many businesses handle card payment costs — so understanding what’s changing, and what to do about it, matters for any business that takes card payments. Here’s a plain-English guide.
This is general information about the card surcharge ban, not legal or financial advice, and the details are being finalised, so confirm the current position and how it applies to your business and payment provider.
WHAT IS THE CARD SURCHARGE BAN?
The card surcharge ban is a reform, announced by the Reserve Bank of Australia, that will stop businesses from adding surcharges to most card payments from 1 October 2026. It covers the main card networks — eftpos, Mastercard and Visa — across debit, prepaid and credit cards, meaning the extra fee many businesses currently add when customers pay by card will no longer be allowed.
The card surcharge ban is part of a wider package of payment reforms aimed at making card payments simpler and cheaper. Alongside the ban, the reforms include lowering the caps on some of the fees businesses pay to accept cards, and requiring greater transparency so businesses can better compare and understand their payment costs.
WHY IT MATTERS
The card surcharge ban matters because it directly affects how businesses handle the cost of accepting card payments. Right now, many businesses pass the cost of card processing on to customers as a separate surcharge. Once the card surcharge ban takes effect, that option disappears — the price shown must be the price paid, with no card surcharge added on top.
This creates a real decision for businesses that currently surcharge: because you’ll no longer be able to add the fee separately, you’ll need to decide whether to absorb the card processing costs or build them into your prices. The card surcharge ban doesn’t remove the cost of accepting cards — it changes how you can recover it, which is why preparation matters.
UNDERSTANDING YOUR CARD PAYMENT COSTS
To respond well to the card surcharge ban, it helps to understand what accepting card payments actually costs your business. When a customer pays by card, your business pays a merchant service fee to your payment provider, which is made up of several components — including interchange fees (paid to the customer’s bank), card scheme fees, and your provider’s own charges. These costs are why surcharging existed in the first place: it let businesses pass the processing cost on to the customer. The good news within the reforms is that alongside the card surcharge ban, the caps on some of these underlying fees are being lowered, which is expected to reduce card acceptance costs — with smaller businesses, who often pay the highest rates, expected to benefit most. There’s also a new push for transparency, with the larger payment providers required to publish their fees, making it easier to compare providers and negotiate a better deal. So while the card surcharge ban removes your ability to surcharge, the accompanying reforms should reduce the underlying costs and make them easier to understand — meaning the net impact for many businesses may be smaller than it first appears. Understanding your own merchant service fee, and reviewing your provider, is the sensible first step.
HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE CARD SURCHARGE BAN
1. Check if you currently surcharge
Work out whether and how you pass card costs to customers. This tells you how much the card surcharge ban affects you.
2. Understand your merchant fees
Find out what accepting cards actually costs your business. Knowing your fees is key to responding to the card surcharge ban.
3. Decide: absorb or build in
Choose whether to absorb card costs or include them in prices. This is the core decision the card surcharge ban forces.
4. Review your payment provider
Compare providers and fees, using the new transparency. Lower fees soften the impact of the card surcharge ban.
5. Update before October 2026
Make sure your pricing and systems are ready in time. Preparation avoids scrambling when the card surcharge ban starts.
THE CARD SURCHARGE BAN FOR TRADES AND SERVICE BUSINESSES
For trades and service businesses that take card payments — whether on-site, over the phone or through invoices — the card surcharge ban means rethinking how card costs are handled. If you currently add a card surcharge to invoices or payments, you’ll need to stop from 1 October 2026 and instead decide whether to absorb those costs or factor them into your pricing. For a trade business, this is worth thinking through properly: card processing costs, while individually small, add up across many jobs, so simply absorbing them affects your margins, while building them into prices needs to be done sensibly so you stay competitive. The accompanying reduction in underlying fees should help, and reviewing your payment provider to make sure you’re getting a good rate is a smart move regardless. The main thing is not to be caught out — understand the card surcharge ban before October 2026, work out your position, and adjust your pricing and systems in good time rather than at the last minute. As always, confirm the current details for your situation.
COMMON CARD SURCHARGE BAN MISTAKES TO AVOID
- Ignoring it until the deadline. Leaving the card surcharge ban until the last minute risks scrambling and non-compliance.
- Just absorbing costs blindly. Failing to account for card costs after the ban can quietly erode your margins.
- Not reviewing your provider. Missing the chance to compare fees and negotiate wastes the reform’s transparency benefit.
- Overreacting on prices. Building in far more than the actual card cost can make you uncompetitive.
Handling pricing, costs and change well is core ACS Consulting work. The Strategy & Business Planning service helps you work out the right pricing response to the card surcharge ban so you protect margins while staying competitive, while the SME Data Analysis & Power BI service helps you understand what card costs are really doing to your bottom line, and the Operations & Process Improvement service helps you update systems and processes in good time. The free Perth SME Operational Audit Checklist helps you review your business ahead of the change. For authoritative guidance, the Reserve Bank of Australia on the payment reforms, the ACCC, and the Australian Government’s getting paid resources are useful references. As this isn’t financial advice, confirm the current details for your situation.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
What is the card surcharge ban?
The card surcharge ban is a Reserve Bank reform that will stop businesses adding surcharges to most card payments from 1 October 2026, covering eftpos, Mastercard and Visa across debit, prepaid and credit cards. It’s part of a wider package of payment reforms that also lowers some card fees and increases fee transparency.
When does the card surcharge ban start?
The card surcharge ban is set to take effect from 1 October 2026, with the accompanying reduction in domestic interchange fee caps applying from the same date. Some further measures, such as caps on foreign card fees, follow later. Until the changes take effect, existing surcharging rules continue to apply, so confirm the current position.
What should my business do about the card surcharge ban?
Check whether you currently surcharge, understand what accepting cards actually costs you, decide whether to absorb those costs or build them into your prices, review your payment provider using the new fee transparency, and update your pricing and systems before October 2026 rather than at the last minute.
Will the card surcharge ban cost my business more?
It changes how you recover card costs rather than removing them — you can’t surcharge, so you absorb or build them in. However, the reforms also lower some underlying fees, with smaller businesses expected to benefit most, and improve fee transparency. So the net impact may be smaller than it first appears, especially if you review your provider.
CONCLUSION
The card surcharge ban stops businesses adding surcharges on most card payments from 1 October 2026, part of a broader package of payment reforms that also lowers some fees and boosts transparency. Check if you currently surcharge, understand your merchant fees, decide whether to absorb or build in card costs, review your provider, and update in good time.
While the card surcharge ban removes your ability to pass card costs on separately, the accompanying reforms should reduce underlying costs and make them clearer. Prepare properly before October 2026, and you can navigate the change smoothly rather than being caught out. As this isn’t financial advice, confirm the current details for your situation.
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